Covid UK news LIVE – Chris Whitty ‘assault’ video investigated by police after ‘yobbos’ grab him in the street
- Which holiday destinations can I travel to from the UK?
SAJID Javid confirmed England WON'T unlock early on July 5 - as he urged Brits to hang on three more weeks for Freedom Day.
Making his first appearance in the Commons on Monday, the new Health Secretary said the Government will look to scrap the majority of restrictions on July 19.
The new Health Secretary ripped up the doomster handbook left by disgraced predecessor Matt Hancock, saying it was his “immediate priority” to end the restrictions.
The former Chancellor ripped up cushy consultancy jobs worth over £300,000 a year to become the people’s freedom fighter.
The business champion turned healthcare chief is well aware of the crippling effect of the pandemic restrictions on the nation’s economy.
Read our Coronavirus blog below for the latest news and updates...
MATT HANCOCK MOCKED BY TWITTER USERS AFTER 'IF YOU'RE A WOMAN, SWIPE UP POST, AFTER AFFAIR IS EXPOSED
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is being mocked by Twitter users for posting “I work alongside brilliant women, if you’re a woman, swipe up” as his affair was dramatically exposed.
The Sun revealed the Health Secretary has been cheating on his wife with his closest aide who he hired with taxpayers’ money during the pandemic.
Pictures show Mr Hancock, 42, and millionaire lobbyist Gina Coladangelo, 43, embracing each other in a steamy clinch at his Whitehall office.
The Health Secretary wrote: “I work alongside some brilliant women. If you’re a woman who wants to get involved in politics, swipe up.”
Twitter has exploded with hundreds of users reacting to his message, many poking fun at the dad-of-three, with one writing: “Swipe right.”
Others reacted with “it’s a no from me” messages along with a number of GIFs to tease Mr Hancock.
Read the full story here
LATITUDE FESTIVAL GETS THE ALL-CLEAR AT FULL 35,000 CAPACITY THIS JULY
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said coronavirus cases are likely to peak next month and cautioned against complacency.
During a press conference last Friday, Drakeford said: “The Delta variant has continued to spread quickly and is now spreading freely in communities right across Wales.”
Last week, there were just under 500 cases of the Delta strain of coronavirus, but the number has since more than doubled to 1,100 infections.
“Coronavirus is once again affecting our schools and our care homes,” said Drakeford.
He added that there would be no change to restrictions on socialising following the new Delta variant and encouraged adults aged between 30 and 39 - a group in which he said there had been some hesitancy - to mitigate the spread by getting vaccinated.
MATT HANCOCK FACES CALLS TO BE SACKED OVER SHOCKING AFFAIR SCANDAL AS HE SCRAPS PUBLIC VISIT
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has scrapped a public appearance today as he bunkered down following The Sun's bombshell revelations of a shameful affair with his close adviser.
Hancock is fighting for his job after facing calls to be sacked over the shameful affair scandal.
He was supposed to attend a vaccination centre at Newmarket in his Suffolk constituency today but trip would have been undoubtedly overshadowed by mounting questions of him snogging top adviser Gina Coladangelo.
And this afternoon, Mr Hancock apologised for his actions, saying: "I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances.
"I have let people down and am very sorry.
"I remain focused on working to get the country out of this pandemic, and would be grateful for privacy for my family on this personal matter."
IBIZA, MAJORCA, MALTA AND THE CARIBBEAN ADDED TO THE GREEN LIST
Sunseekers have been given their biggest boost of the year tonight with Ibiza, Majorca, Malta and the Caribbean all promoted to the green list.
In a major win for summer holidays, a bumper list of new destinations where Brits can travel without quarantine has opened up foreign travel from as early as next week.
All except Malta are on the green "watch list" which means they are teetering on the brink of reverting to amber.
But it means from next Wednesday at 4am, passengers will be able jet off from England to the Balearics without hunkering down at home on return.
The announcement has been welcomed by cash-starved airlines, travel companies and holidaymakers longing for a post-pandemic retreat after months in lockdown.
COUNTRIES ON THE GREEN LIST
The full list of countries on the green list
- Anguila
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- Balearic Islands
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- British Antartic Territory
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Cayman Islands
- Dominica
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Gibraltar
- Grenada
- Iceland
- Israel and Jerusalem
- Madeira
- Malta
- Montserrat
- New Zealand
- Pitcairn Islands
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- Singapore
- Turks and Caicos Islands
EXPERTS TOLD PM ‘DON’T BE FEARFUL’ AS BRITAIN COULD UNLOCK SOONER
Boris Johnson is being “overcautious” and could end lockdown early, on July 5, top scientists and MPs have said.
Experts insisted the PM could safely ditch the final set of lockdown restrictions and free the country in just two weeks’ time.
Brendan Wren, a professor of vaccinology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the Government has been gripped by “coronamania”.
He said: “I think the Government has been a bit overcautious, there’s a certain amount of coronamania going on.
“We are in a third wave but it’s not as bad. It’s more like a bump rather than a huge increase.
“We have a different population to what we had in the first or second wave so we shouldn’t be so fearful.”
NHS SOUNDS ALARM OVER RISE IN UK COVID PATIENTS ON VENTILATORS
The NHS is under ‘huge pressure’ as people in ventilator beds increase 41% during last week, NHS bosses say.
The deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said the number of Covid patients in hospital on ventilation beds had increased by 41% in the last week to , which she said was a strong indication Covid was having an impact on health services.
Cordery told BBC Breakfast: “Trusts on the frontline are really coming under huge pressure … they have plans in place to tackle the backlog, but with more Covid cases and demand for emergency care going up, that’s really challenging.”Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Prof Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, said this and other surveillance data were “encouraging”, despite rising case numbers. Lower hospitalisations and death rates relative to case numbers prove the high effectiveness of vaccines in protecting people from serious illness, he said.
VERY RARE CASES OF HEART INFLAMMATION IN YOUNG ADULTS ‘LIKELY’ LINKED TO MRNA VACCINES, SAY US EXPERTS
The Pfizer and Moderna jabs could be linked with a slight increase in the risk of heart inflammation, according to a group advising the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sky news understands experts have been assessing a link between the heart condition and the mRNA vaccines, mainly in young men.
Pfizer previously said it had not observed a higher rate of heart inflammation than would normally be expected.
EXPERT REVEALS ALLOWING QUARANTINE-FREE TRAVEL FOR DOUBLE-JABBED BRITS IS 'SENSIBLE'
Easing restrictions for fully-vaccinated travellers is a "sensible approach", leading expert professor Neil Ferguson says.
Professor Ferguson, from Imperial College London, who was appointed during the first lockdown in March 2020, said people who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine are less likely to become seriously ill or transmit the virus.
Prof Ferguson said: "The effectiveness of two doses of vaccine preventing infection is, depending on the vaccine, somewhere between, we think, 80-90%.
"Even if you do get infected, first of all you're much less likely to be severely ill.
"But you're also, and this is important for travel, much less likely to transmit - probably half as infectious as somebody who wasn't vaccinated.
"So overall that leads to double vaccinated people really only posing somewhere between five and 10% of the risk of importing a case than somebody who wasn't vaccinated."
WHAT HOLIDAYS TO GREEN LIST DESTINATIONS MALTA AND IBIZA WILL LOOK LIKE NOW - FROM NO DANCING IN CLUBS TO MIDNIGHT CURFEWS
Brits are finally allowed to jet off to sun-kissed holiday islands without needing to quarantine when they come back.
However, those gagging for a no-holds-barred party break are in for a shock as strict Covid rules in the top destinations include banning dancing and staying out beyond midnight.
Some of the isles have put a strict midnight or 1am curfew in order and those once famous for all night bar and club opening will be turfing revellers out into the street by 2am at the latest.
Worse still, destinations famed for their clubbing have banned dancing — indoors and outside.
Here we look at these Covid rules in the holiday islands which are being imposed by law.
MATT HANCOCK APOLOGISES FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDANCE BREACH
Today, Mr Hancock apologised for his actions, saying: "I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances.
"I have let people down and am very sorry.
"I remain focused on working to get the country out of this pandemic, and would be grateful for privacy for my family on this personal matter."
Mr Hancock cheated on his wife Martha with Gina Coladangelo, 43, who he hired last year with taxpayers’ money, as Covid took over Britain.
But the shameful images also showed him breaking multiple Covid rules on May 6.
Indoor mixing bans weren't relaxed until May 17 on the lockdown roadmap - meaning that the Health Secretary failed to keep to restrictions enforced by himself and the PM.
'HYPOCRITE' MATT HANCOCK AIMED AT NEIL FERGUSON AFTER COVID AFFAIR - JUST A YEAR BEFORE HIS OWN
'Hypocrite' Matt Hancock skewered Professor Lockdown Neil Ferguson for his affair during Covid - just a year before his own.
The Health Secretary stressed the importance of social distancing and bashed the Professor's "extraordinary" behaviour during the first lockdown - but Hancock has now gone and done the same.
In the clip from May 2020, the Health Secretary condemns the actions of Neil Ferguson - who broke Covid rules to meet his married mistress Antonia Staats.
Matt Hancock said he was left "speechless" by Prof Ferguson’s "extraordinary" behaviour, and said it had been right for him to resign as a government Sage adviser.
Matt Hancock said on Sky News: "The social distancing rules are there for everyone, they're incredibly important and they're deadly serious.
"And the reason is they are the means by which we've managed to get control of this virus."
GRANT SHAPPS SAYS QUARANTINE FREE TRAVEL FOR BRITS WITH TWO JABS WON'T BE READY FOR FREEDOM DAY
Travel to amber countries won’t be relaxed for double-jabbed Brits in time for Freedom Day on July 19, Grant Shapps admitted today.
With holiday hopes taking a blow, a blow the Transport Secretary said it will be “complicated” to exempt the fully vaccinated from quarantine.
When asked about that prospect today, Mr Shapps replied: "It’s unfortunately more complicated than that.
"One of the very big areas is what do you do if children are not going to be getting vaccinations?
"So we’ll probably focus in phase one on UK people who’ve been double vaccinated, and what that means for their travel into other areas."
VERY RARE CASES OF HEART INFLAMMATION IN YOUNG ADULTS ‘LIKELY’ LINKED TO MRNA VACCINES, EXPERTS WARN
The Pfizer and Moderna jabs could be linked with a slight increase in the risk of heart inflammation, according to a group advising the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sky news understands experts have been assessing a link between the heart condition and the mRNA vaccines, mainly in young men.
Pfizer previously said it had not observed a higher rate of heart inflammation than would normally be expected.
GERMANY SET TO FORCE BRITS TO QUARANTINE FOR 14 DAYS TO STOP DELTA VARIANT
Germany yesterday tried to ban Brits from holiday sunbeds — whilst their footballers lined up a Euros showdown with our Three Lions.
Chancellor Angela Merkel urged all EU nations to make UK visitors quarantine to halt the spreading Delta variant.
Merkel raged: “In our country if you come from Great Britain you have to go into quarantine.
“That’s not the case in every European country and that’s what I’d like to see.”
MP Alec Shelbrooke said: “The Germans are willing to bully other nations as they still can’t accept the Brexit result on it’s fifth anniversary of the vote. And, unbelievably, they are willing to destroy their own tourist industry over political ideology.”
SCHOOL SPORTS DAY GETS GREEN LIGHT, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SAYS
Schools do not need to cancel this year’s sports days as a result of Covid restrictions, the Department for Education has said.
Some schools are cancelling sports days and citing Covid guidance, but the Government has said this does not need to happen in “most circumstances”.
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesman said: “Outdoor events like sports days can go ahead as long as they’re thoroughly risk assessed and conducted in line with guidance around cleaning shared equipment and not mixing bubbles. This applies for parents attending too.”
Spectators can gather in separate groups of up to 30 outdoors and they need to observe social distancing, according to a blog by the DfE.
“This means, dependent on the size of the area available, multiple groups of 30 could theoretically attend events as long as there is no mixing between groups at any stage,” the DfE adds.
MATT HANCOCK MOCKED BY TWITTER USERS AFTER 'IF YOU'RE A WOMAN, SWIPE UP POST, AFTER AFFAIR IS EXPOSED
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is being mocked by Twitter users for posting “I work alongside brilliant women, if you’re a woman, swipe up” as his affair was dramatically exposed.
The Sun revealed the Health Secretary has been cheating on his wife with his closest aide who he hired with taxpayers’ money during the pandemic.
Pictures show Mr Hancock, 42, and millionaire lobbyist Gina Coladangelo, 43, embracing each other in a steamy clinch at his Whitehall office.
The Health Secretary wrote: “I work alongside some brilliant women. If you’re a woman who wants to get involved in politics, swipe up.”
Twitter has exploded with hundreds of users reacting to his message, many poking fun at the dad-of-three, with one writing: “Swipe right.”
Others reacted with “it’s a no from me” messages along with a number of GIFs to tease Mr Hancock.
Read the full story here
UK DELTA VARIANT CASES RISE 46% IN A WEE
Cases of the Delta variant which was first identified in India have risen 46% in a week across the UK, new figures show.
Public Health England said there had been 35,204 more cases since last week.
This week, 514 people were admitted to hospital in England with Covid-19, where reports show 304 were unvaccinated.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: "Through the success of our vaccination programme, data suggest we have begun to break the link between cases and hospitalisations. This is hugely encouraging news, but we cannot become complacent.
"Two doses of vaccine are far more effective against Covid-19 than a single dose, so please make sure that you come forward to get your second dose as soon as you are invited.
"Whilst vaccines provide excellent protection, they do not provide total protection, so it is still as important as ever that we continue to exercise caution."
SCHOOL SPORTS DAYS CAN GO AHEAD, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SAYS
Schools do not need to cancel this year’s sports days as a result of Covid restrictions, the Department for Education has said.
Some schools are cancelling sports days and citing Covid guidance, but the Government has said this does not need to happen in “most circumstances”.
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesman said: “Outdoor events like sports days can go ahead as long as they’re thoroughly risk assessed and conducted in line with guidance around cleaning shared equipment and not mixing bubbles. This applies for parents attending too.”
Spectators can gather in separate groups of up to 30 outdoors and they need to observe social distancing, according to a blog by the DfE.
“This means, dependent on the size of the area available, multiple groups of 30 could theoretically attend events as long as there is no mixing between groups at any stage,” the DfE adds.
BALEARIC ISLAND FORMER PRESIDENT JOSE RAMON BAUZA WELCOMED THEM BEING ADDED TO THE GOVERNMENT'S GREEN TRAVEL LIST
During a chat with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said that the Spanish islands are "looking forward to" welcoming Brits again.
He added: "It is a safe destination and our industry is absolutely more than prepared to have safe tourism."
Asked if Spain will have to agree to a rational approach to quarantine rules once decided by the EU, he said it is important that decisions are taken "based on science" and are not "political".
He added: "We know that vaccination is working very well and in fact in (the) UK it's working so far."
NHS WORRY OVER RISE IN UK COVID PATIENTS ON VENTILATORS
The NHS is under ‘huge pressure’ as people in ventilator beds increase 41% during last week, NHS bosses say.
The deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said the number of Covid patients in hospital on ventilation beds had increased by 41% in the last week to , which she said was a strong indication Covid was having an impact on health services.
Cordery told BBC Breakfast: “Trusts on the frontline are really coming under huge pressure … they have plans in place to tackle the backlog, but with more Covid cases and demand for emergency care going up, that’s really challenging.”Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Prof Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, said this and other surveillance data were “encouraging”, despite rising case numbers. Lower hospitalisations and death rates relative to case numbers prove the high effectiveness of vaccines in protecting people from serious illness, he said.
FLIGHT PRICES TRIPLE IN MINUTES AFTER GREEN LIST COUNTRIES ANNOUNCED BY PM AS DESPERATE BRITS MAKE A DASH ABROAD
Flight prices have tripled in minutes following the green list boost as holidaymakers desperately try to flee abroad.
The cost of flying to Ibiza, Majorca, Menorca and Malta surged by up to 200 per cent overnight after the sunny destinations were added to England's quarantine-free list.
If Brits want to fly to Ibiza, they will have to buy return tickets costing nearly triple after it was added to the green list - as flights on July 3 and July 10 leapt from £149 to £314.
Journeys on the same days to Majorca also spiked from £153 to a staggering £478 as people desperately book seats for their holidays, reports the Mail.
Grant Shapps said yesterday: "We’re moving forward with efforts to safely reopen international travel this summer, and thanks to the success of our vaccination programme, we're now able to consider removing the quarantine period for fully vaccinated UK arrivals from amber countries – showing a real sign of progress.
"It’s right that we continue with this cautious approach, to protect public health and the vaccine rollout as our top priority, while ensuring that our route out of the international travel restrictions is sustainable."
FRENCH MEP SAID THERE SHOULD BE A 'HARMONISED' APPROACH TO TRAVEL RULES ACROSS THE EU AND 'THIRD COUNTRIES' SUCH AS THE UK
French MEP Veronique Trillet-Lenoir told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The European Union is concerned by the Delta variant and wants to act in a united and co-ordinated manner as much as possible."
Trillet-Lenoir said discussions are currently ongoing over decisions regarding "third countries", such as the UK.
"Clearly Germany, France and Portugal have already said that they needed a quarantine; what I really would like is a harmonised and co-ordinated manner, although I understand that the vision is not the same for southern and northern countries in Europe," she added.
Asked if she thinks it will be necessary to have quarantine for UK travellers throughout all the EU nations, Ms Trillet-Lenoir said: "It is necessary to have harmonised measure in order to prioritise the sanitary issues.
"I'm very well aware of the economical issues, but until now both the EU and the UK have prioritised the sanitary aspect of the crisis and that's the way to do it."
PIERS MORGAN AIMS AT 'HYPOCRITICAL' MATT COCOCK OVER SHOCKING AFFAIR AFTER ORDERING PUBLIC NOT TO HUG
Piers Morgan has blasted "hypocritical" Matt Hancock for his raunchy affair - at the same time he ordered Brits not to hug loved ones.
The former Good Morning Britain host pointed out that Hancock was not following his own health rules during his shocking encounter with Gina Coladangelo.
Piers tweeted The Sun's front page, exposing the Health Secretary's explosive affair, adding: "At the time he was ordering the British people not to hug anyone from other households…"
Mr Hancock cheated on his wife with Gina Coladangelo, 43, who he hired last year with taxpayers’ money, as Covid gripped Britain.
PRIME MINISTER WILL CUT ONE-METRE SOCIAL DISTANCING RULE ON JULY 19 TO SAVE ARTS AND HOSPITALITY
Boris Johnson is determined to put an end to the one-metre distance rule on July 19 even if other Covid measures have to stay in place, Cabinet sources said yesterday.
It is reported that the Prime Minister has prioritised the removal of the one-metre social distancing rule above all other measures due to its importance to sectors such as hospitality and the arts.
A Cabinet source said the PM had accepted that the one-metre rule should be made the top priority for July 19.
"The economic case is unarguable,’ the source said. ‘The one-metre rule is the key remaining social distancing measure left.
"If we can’t remove it then we might as well not bother on July 19 at all. The PM is determined to get rid of it, even if things like masks have to stay for a bit longer.";